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Here's something to keep in mind whilst browsing book22.com, an online sex toy shop designed especially for Christians: The code word for vibrator is "aid."

And sorry, you won’t find any dildos shaped after the manhood of a porn star here. Or fantasy sex games. You won’t even find a pack of condoms on the subtly designed site, devoid of the typical pornographic imagery.

Book22 — whose name references the Bible's sauciest book, Song of Solomon — is dedicated to serving a growing market of married, heterosexual Christian couples who have become more open to bringing toys into the bedroom in recent years, says Oregon-based owner Joy Wilson, a 41-year-old mother of two.

"I think we attract people who agree that sex isn’t just for procreational purposes, who do want to stay somewhat pure and not be exposed to obscenity and pornography," she says. And contrary to the stereotype of a modest, pious, prudish Christian woman or man, it seems God is A-OK with the faithful having a great time in the sack, according to Wilson. "The Lord doesn’t give us a ton of restrictions."

Since book22.com launched 11 years ago, shops selling sexy stuff to Christians have proliferated online — and similar businesses reaching other faiths have followed suit. Last fall, koshersextoys.net set up shop, selling Orthodox Jewish patrons everything from vibrators to prostate plugs. And in 2010, El Asira, an online sex shop that caters to Muslims, began selling massage oils and lubricants through separate Web pages for men and women.

While married religious folk have (obviously) been getting it on for generations, never before has sex — and the controversial sex toy — been on the lips of the faithful quite the way it is today. And across religions, the message and mentality appears to be the same: A sexier time in the sack can lead to a happier marriage and therefore (one can pray) a stronger relationship with God.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach devotes an entire chapter to sex toys in his bestselling book Kosher Sex: A Recipe for Passion and Intimacy, published 12 years ago and credited, at the time, for bringing Jewish teachings on sex to the broader public.

"If married couples want to use a sex toy, more power to them. Who cares?" he says. "As long as it’s something that increases the love and sexual passion between man and wife, that’s a beautiful thing."

But there are limitations, Boteach says. Pornography — as evangelical Christians and Catholics, Orthodox Jews and observant Muslims might agree — has no place in a married relationship.

"Porn does not increase (a couple’s) attraction to each other," he says. "It serves as an artificial barrier exciting them about strangers."

Judaism celebrates sexual passion between husband and wife and it "takes female sexuality very seriously."

"A husband has an obligation to pleasure his wife. So whether that’s through direct physical contact or with a sex toy, Judaism doesn’t shun that at all," Boteach adds.

A similar obligation is written in the Koran and its chapters, called suras, says Abdelaziz Aouragh, the Netherlands-based founder of El Asira. During sex, the deed is not considered complete until climax is reached. He insists it’s especially important for newly married Muslim couples — who are typically virgins when they wed — to have the time and space to explore what gives them pleasure. That said, there will be no vibrators or dildos allowed in the Muslim bedroom. Pornography is also verboten.

But sure as there are many plots on the spectrum of faith, there are myriad reactions to the idea of bringing sex toys into a religious marriage.

Pamela Dickey Young, a professor in the religion department at Queen’s University, says these online sex toy shops likely attract only the more conservative religious couples.

"They’re not for all Christians, they’re not for all Jews, they’re not for all Muslims. They tend to be more directed to those who are devout and those who are trying to live according to what they perceive to be their religious group’s sexual guidelines," she says, adding that a Reform Jew or a member of the United Church of Canada might be more inclined to go to a run-of-the-mill sex shop.

Religious groups have been more inclined to give guidance about sexuality since the 1980s, when birth control became more common, the status of women changed and the idea of gay rights entered the public realm, says Dickey Young, who studies Christianity and sexuality. There were varied reactions within conservative religions to these kinds of societal shifts, she says, just like there are today in a society where pornography is just a mouse click away.

Wilson has seen these diverse reactions herself. When book22.com began, "the Christian community didn’t want to touch me with a 10-foot pole," she says. But that quickly changed.

"We’ve gotten flak for this over the years — ’Why do you sell specifically to Christians?’ And ’What makes your sex toys Christian?’ " says Wilson, a certified counsellor who specializes in sex therapy and sexual abuse and trauma, as well as spirituality. (She started her business after having trouble connecting with her husband during post-baby sex.) "It’s not about that. I was just trying to help people who did share my faith — who had the same values as me — be able to buy stuff in the same avenue I wanted to."

Wilson stopped selling condoms in order to stop the steady stream of emails from anti-contraceptive Catholics (a year ago, the Canadian Catholic bishops warned married couples to not get too caught up in sexual acts other than intercourse that may "fall short of what God intended"). She also carefully rewrites product descriptions and ensures all her clients receive their toys in discreet and label-free white packages. Her sales average 100 products a month — this January has been particularly busy, she says, having already sold 100 products two weeks in.

"I think there really is that idea that Christians are prudes, but I think a better way to put it is simply that Christians are private," says Sheila Wray Gregoire, a Christian speaker based in Belleville, Ont.

In her new book, The Good Girl’s Guide to Great Sex (And You Thought Bad Girls Have All the Fun), which comes out in February, Wray Gregoire references surveys that say Christian women are most likely to orgasm during sex and that women married between 15 and 25 years report having the best sex.

"So it’s not the Kardashians having all the fun," she says, wryly skewering what she — and many others — sees as an oversexed culture.

Even still, Wray Gregoire is not sure she’s buying what Wilson and the other faith-based sex toy vendors are selling.

"I don’t think they’re wrong," she says of sex toys. "I just think there can be danger of getting too reliant on having a vibrator in the bedroom."

The real key to a sizzling Christian sex life, she says, is improving communication between yourself and your partner.

"If the problem is that your sex life isn’t great, usually the solution isn’t to buy a dildo."

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In the biblical sense: Sex toys for couples who want to keep it hot & holy

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